Jon Lester

Jon Lester (3-5) is coming off his best performance of the season, a complete game, one-run win against the Mariners at Fenway. The performance, which gave Lester just his second win in eight starts, dropped his ERA (3.71) below 4.00 for the first time since early April and marked his first start without allowing a walk.

He’ll have a good opportunity to repeat the feat when he takes the mound Saturday night in Philadelphia, as, through Thursday, only the lowly Pirates have drawn fewer walks than the Phillies. Overall, Philadelphia enters the weekend series ranked slightly below league average in nearly every offensive category, including runs (17th), on-base percentage (19th) and slugging percentage (16th).

Against Lester, Philly’s numbers are even worse. Only four of the 11 Phillies he’s faced have ever had a hit off of him. Collectively, Philadelphia is hitting just .188 against the big lefty.

Joe Blanton (4-3) will be taking the mound for the Phillies. After losing almost all of 2011 to elbow troubles, Blanton is off to the best season of his career, posting an elite 35:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 48 innings and a 2.96 ERA.

The Red Sox however, have hit Blanton well in the past. The 11 Sox players who have faced him are batting .287 with a .341 on-base percentage and eight home runs.

Last season the Sox lost two of the three games against Philadelphia. Overall, Boston is 28-18 against the Phillies since 1997, including 15-11 in Philadelphia.

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John Smoltz

MLB Network analyst John Smoltz weighed in on the Josh Beckett golf controversy during a Wednesday appearance on the Mut & Merloni show. To hear the interview, go to the Mut & Merloni audio on demand page.

Smoltz acknowledged that Beckett “could have handled it a little bit better,” but he said Beckett’s golf excursion is being overblown in Red Sox Nation.

“We make way too much of things that have absolutely nothing to do with execution on the field,” Smoltz said, adding: “A golf swing and throwing a baseball is not even remotely close. I will give you this: A back or a lat can come into play, but unless you’re a violent golfer or a terrible golfer, it really has nothing to do with Josh’s inability to throw strikes or where he wants to. He proved it the next start. He made the changes.”

Smoltz, who pitched 21 major league seasons, mostly with the Braves, spent a chunk of the 2009 season with the Red Sox. He said he knows first-hand from that experience that the Sox starters are putting in the effort.

“To be honest with you, I talked to [Beckett] and [Jon] Lester about toning it down a little bit. Those guys worked like animals,” he said. “I’d never seen guys work as hard as they did in between starts. I played a long time, and I was always priding myself on the way that I worked, but those guys put me to shame.

“I know they were younger, and certainly that trend can not continue. But I think from what goes on in a clubhouse and what goes on on a field, sometimes we translate it into, ‘What could it be? Why is his head not right? Why is it this?’ There’s a lot of things that I think each player, if they had a chance to do it all over again, might answer questions differently or not have a certain attitude of disdain. I think taking better ownership and taking more direct hits sometimes is not fun, but you’ve just got to deal with it.

“From a standpoint of these guys and going to spring training, look, I went 21 years with the Atlanta Braves. I never did half of the stuff I did when I was with the Boston Red Sox in spring training, and the way they went after it. I mean, it was incredibly tough.”

Smoltz said he has confidence the Red Sox will turn things around, but he cautions that it will take patience.

“Time is not on Boston’s side, for obvious reasons,” he said. “People want that team to rebound from last year and be the team everyone thinks they’re capable of being, and I think they will. But time, it’s just not something that people are very patient with. And you’re seeing this very streaky team. And now the rotation is coming around. It’s going to be OK. I just know people don’t feel that way given the fact that it happened in September and it’s really carried over to this year.”

Jon Lester

The Red Sox look to Jon Lester to help extend their three-game winning streak Monday night when they welcome the weak-hitting Mariners to town. Coming off back-to-back All-Star seasons, Lester (1-3) has been serviceable but unspectacular through seven starts in 2012. Across the board, he’s giving up more hits (8.4), walks (3.9) and earned runs (4.29) per nine innings than he has since 2007. He’s also averaging the fewest strikeouts per nine innings (6) of his entire career while the Sox are just 2-5 when their nominal ace takes the mound.

And yet, almost every time out, Lester has pitched well enough to give his team a chance to win, going at least five innings in six of his seven starts (the exception being a brutal two-inning beatdown by the Rangers on April 17). In the four other Sox losses Lester has appeared in, he’s allowed only eight earned runs, including a complete game against Toronto in which he scattered just three hits. What’s more, opponents have hit only three home runs against Lester all season, putting the 28 year-old-lefty on pace to tie a career low 0.6 home runs per nine innings.

Seattle’s offense ranks in the bottom half of the American League in every major category, including dead last in on-base percentage at .291. The vast majority of the Mariners offense is also unfamiliar with Lester. Ichiro Suzuki (26 plate appearances) and Chone Figgins (17) are the only Mariners to have more than five plate appearances against him, combining for 11 hits and nine strikeouts.

The Sox offense, meanwhile, faces its own tough task in Seattle’s Jason Vargas, who is coming off a terrific, eight-inning, one-run win over Detroit. Over the last two years, the 29-year-old lefty emerged as a reliable option for the Mariners and has elevated his game even further in 2012, stepping into the No. 2 spot in Seattle’s rotation vacated by Michael Pineda. Vargas is 4-2 in eight starts overall this season with a 2.79 ERA.

The 10 Boston batters who have faced Vargas are hitting a combined .280 but have just one home run and six RBIs in 55 plate appearances.

Monday night’s game is the 34th of the year for the Red Sox, meaning they’ve already played than 20 percent of the season. At 15-19, the Sox currently sit in last place in the AL East, 6.5 games behind Baltimore.

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Jon Lester

The Red Sox have had a rough go of it in the month of May — losing six of their seven games — but enter Wednesday night’s matchup with a little bit of history on their side as they try to return to their winning ways. The Sox will send out ace Jon Lester, who will try to continue his career dominance against Kansas City and help his team win the rubber game of the three-game series.

In seven career starts against the Royals, Lester is 5-1 with a 1.30 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. On May 19, 2008, Lester threw his first career no-hitter against the Royals, striking out nine and helping the Red Sox to a 7-0 victory at Fenway Park. In his last appearance against the Royals on Aug. 21 of last year, Lester pitched six innings and allowed just one run on three hits in the Red Sox’ 6-1 win at Kauffman Stadium.

Playing against the Royals should be a breath of fresh air for Lester, who has struggled to begin the 2012 season. The left-hander is only 1-2 with a 4.62 ERA, but he has shown signs of returning to form. He earned his first win of the season on April 28, besting the White Sox with seven innings of shutout ball as he allowed five hits and struck out seven in the Red Sox’ 1-0 win.

In his most recent appearance, Lester received a no-decision in the Red Sox’ 6-4 loss to the Orioles on May 4. Lester surrendered five hits and three earned runs and only struck out two before getting relieved at the beginning of the seventh with the Red Sox holding a 4-3 lead. They ultimately lost in 13 innings.

Starting opposite Lester for the Royals will be Bruce Chen, who also has experienced difficulties to begin 2012. The left-hander has yet to win a game this season, as he owns a 0-4 record with a 4.98 ERA. He’s given up 12 runs over the course of his last two outings. On April 29, he gave up six runs on six hits in only 2 2/3 innings in a 7-4 loss to the Twins before going up against the Yankees on May 4, when he gave up six runs on nine hits — including two home runs — in 6 2/3 innings of the Royals’ 6-2 loss.

Chen — who pitched for Boston in 2003, appearing five times and posting a 0-1 record — hasn’t had much luck against the Red Sox. In 16 career games against the Sox, Chen has a 3-6 record and a 5.98 ERA, including a disastrous outing in his last start against them. On July 27, 2011, Chen lasted four innings and gave up 10 runs on 10 hits and three home runs as the Red Sox cruised to a 12-5 victory.

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Jon Lester

In the past few years, games between the Red Sox and the Orioles have not been weighed down with history. That tension has been saved for Red Sox-Yankees games, and of late, Red Sox-Rays games. In the standings, the Orioles usually have been in a battle for last place in the division while the Red Sox were traditionally fighting for first.

But this year, that situation is reversed. The 11-13 Red Sox sit in last place in the division, six games behind the Rays and 4 1/2 games behind the second-place Orioles. And of course, there is plenty of recent history between the Red Sox and the Orioles. The last time the teams met, the Red Sox’ season came to a devastating end by virtue of a blown save in Baltimore from Jonathan Papelbon and a simultaneous comeback by the Rays, who topped the visiting Yankees to knock the Red Sox out of the playoffs.

On Friday, the Red Sox will take the field against the Orioles for the first time since that night in late September. Much has changed in Boston. Terry Francona is gone, as is Papelbon, but some things have not changed.

Jon Lester, who made the start that night, will take the mound for the Red Sox again on Friday. Lester enters the outing on the heels of his first win of the season, a 1-0 decision over the White Sox on April 28. The left-hander twirled a seven-inning shutout, allowing five hits and walking one while striking out seven White Sox. Lester did not get a decision in the Red Sox’ season-ending loss to the O’s last year, and he has never recorded a loss to Baltimore in 18 career starts. He owns the longest win streak of any pitcher against the Orioles to start a career.

Despite Lester’s perfect record, some of the Orioles batters have had success against the southpaw. Matt Wieters has hit Lester at a .320 clip throughout his career, recording a double and two RBIs. Nolan Reimold is 4-for-12 in his career against Lester with a double, three singles and three walks.

The Orioles will counter Lester Friday with rookie Wei-Yin Chen, a Taiwan native who has been impressive in the first four starts of his major league career. Chen is 2-0 this season with a 2.22 ERA, and he has yet to allow more than two earned runs in an outing. His last start, a 10-1 win over Oakland, was his longest outing of the season, as he tossed seven innings of six-hit, one-run baseball.

None of the Red Sox have ever recorded an at-bat against Chen at the major league level, but the team certainly will be eager to do well after dropping two of three games to the Athletics. Adrian Gonzalez shouldered much of the blame for the team’s loss in the final game of the A’s series, especially after he struck out with the bases loaded and the Red Sox down, 4-1, in the bottom of the seventh inning. Gonzalez is mired in an 0-for-14 rut stretching over his last four games.
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Jon Lester

After starting the week with a 4-10 record, the Red Sox enter Saturday afternoon’s game against the White Sox with a chance to reach the .500 mark thanks to a five-game win streak. The matinee game has the potential to be a pitching duel, as Boston will send out ace Jon Lester on Saturday to face White Sox ace Jake Peavy.

Lester is searching for his first win of the season, as he is 0-2 through his four starts and has lost five consecutive decisions dating back to Sept. 11 of last season. The left-hander did not earn a decision in his most recent start, a 6-5 Red Sox win over the Twins, but he gave Boston a chance to win by limiting the Twins to five runs on six hits through seven innings of work.

Lester has a winning record in his career at U.S. Cellular Field. He posted a 4.50 ERA through five starts and owns a 3-2 record in Chicago. Lester’s last outing against the White Sox was a good one, as he tossed eight innings of two-run baseball in a 10-2 Red Sox win on July 30, 2011.

Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski have both hit well against Lester in their careers. Konerko, who is 4-for-8 through the first two games of this series and hit a home run off Daniel Bard Friday, has a .389 career average against Lester with three home runs and six RBIs. Pierzynski hits Lester at a .364 clip and has a double and three RBIs in his career against him.

While Lester enters the game looking to reverse his early-season struggles, Peavy will make the start hoping to improve on his perfect 3-0 record. Peavy’s three-game win streak to start the season is tied for the longest season-opening win streak of his career, as he also won his first three decisions in 2008 while pitching for the Padres.

In his most recent start, Peavy tossed a complete-game shutout in a 4-0 win over the Athletics. Peavy allowed just three hits through his nine innings of work and lowered his ERA to 1.88, the second-best mark among American League pitchers.

Peavy has made just two career starts against the Red Sox and earned a 1-1 record with a 4.50 ERA in those games. The one win came in his most recent start against the Red Sox, a 7-3 Chicago victory back on May 30, 2011. Peavy allowed three runs on six hits in that outing while striking out just two batters through seven innings.

None of the Red Sox have more than nine career at-bats against Peavy. Recent acquisition Marlon Byrd has the most experience against Peavy, as he faced him nine times. Most of those at-bats came while both Peavy and Byrd were in the National League, and Byrd is 2-for-8 against Peavy with a double and two strikeouts. David Ortiz hits Peavy best of any Red Sox player, as he is 3-for-6 against Peavy with one RBI.

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Jon Lester

With Sunday night’s game against the Yankees getting rained out and his bullpen in shambles, Bobby Valentine announced that the Red Sox will be skipping Daniel Bard’s start in the rotation so that he will be available in the bullpen before his next scheduled start. This means that Jon Lester, coming off of a disastrous start against the Rangers last week, will make his scheduled start opposite Twins right-hander Jason Marquis.

Lester made just just one game against Twins last season, an 11-6 loss at Target Field, where he went 7 1/3 innings and gave up four earned runs on eight hits and five walks. The start falls in line with Lester’s career numbers against the Twins, against whom he’s gone 1-3 with a 4.71 ERA in seven starts.

After starting the season with two strong outings, giving up just four runs over 15 innings, Lester imploded against the Rangers. Lester was out of the game in the third inning, in which he failed to record an out, but not before surrendering seven runs on the day. In all, it took Lester 80 pitches to record just six outs.

Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer, the two Twins who have done the most damage against Lester in the past are both recovering from disastrous seasons. Morneau, who missed most of the 2011 to a variety of ailments, hasn’t been the same player since sustaining a concussion that forced him to miss much of the 2010 season. Mauer, meanwhile, struggled through the 2011 season with a range of issues after undergoing knee surgery but is batting .316 this season. Meanwhile, Denard Span looks to continue to be a thorn in the Red Sox’ side. In addition to his solid numbers against Lester, Span is a .349 hitter against the Red Sox over his career.

Out of the gate, the Twins have struggled to score runs as a team, a welcome sign for a Red Sox pitching stuff that has come under fire. The Twins have scored the third-least runs in the American League with 58, 12 fewer than the Red Sox. The Twins offense has been largely stagnant despite the fact that they rank fifth in the AL in batting average with a mark of .257.

Marquis has been in the league since 2000 but has made just four regular-season starts against the Red Sox. Having spent most of his career in the National League, Marquis made his most recent regular-season start against the Red Sox back in 2002. Marquis also faced the Red Sox twice in the 2004 World Series, once as a starter and once out of the bullpen for the Cardinals. In his Game 2 appearance, Marquis appeared in relief and pitched a scoreless seventh inning in the 6-2 Red Sox victory. In his Game 4 start, Marquis took the World Series-clinching loss by giving up three runs over six innings in the 3-0 decision. Can you believe it?

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